*Rejects political resolution of Kanu’s case
The Senate, on Wednesday, condemned the weekly sit-at-home order in the South-East geopolitical zone by the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra,( IPOB), urging the federal government to collaborate with state governments and extradite a leader of the gang, Simon Ekpa, from Finland for prosecution in Nigeria.
The Red Chamber also resolved to invite the Minister of Foreign Affairs, when appointed, and relevant stakeholders, to carry out thorough investigation to bring other sponsors of the act to book.
The resolutions followed a motion, titled: “Condemning the Disruptive Nature of Sit-at-Home Demonstration in the South-East Nigeria”, by Sen. Osita Izunaso (APC Imo-West) and co-sponsored by 14 other Senators during plenary.
Izunaso, while leading the debate, lamented that “thousands of lives have been lost since this act started, and property worth over a trillion naira destroyed, and investors leaving the zone.”
He added that the sit-at-home civil disobedience in the zone has led to the disruption and destruction of economic activities, as well as immeasurable losses for businesses, workers and the local economy, noting that “when people are forced to stay at home and businesses remain closed, productivity declines, and income is reduced, thereby affecting livelihoods and economic growth.”
The lawmaker further regretted that the act disrupts the education of students leading to missed classes and delay in academic progress, stressing that “such prolonged disruptions have long-term effects on students’ learning outcomes and educational development”.
He added that, “disruption of essential public services such as healthcare, transportation and waste disposal continues to have severe impact during the sit-at-home protests which adversely affect the well-being and safety of the general population living in the South East.
“The sit-at-home protests continue to lead to acts of violence and clashes with the law enforcement agencies, which have led to uncountable losses of lives of innocent people, security agents and the protesters.
“As this increases, the potential for criminal elements to take advantage of the situation to engage in looting or other unlawful activities while the people stay at home,” he lamented.
Sen. Izunaso, however, warned that “if the activities of Simon Ekpa, who is issuing the illegal sit-at-home orders is not checked, he may succeed in corrupting the minds of Nigerian youths and turning them against the government, which is tantamount to treasonable felony.”
However, the Senate rejected the pleas for political resolution to the case of the detained IPOB leader, Nnamdi Kanu, currently in the custody of the Department of State Services, (DSS), especially withdrawal of all charges against him.
Speaking with journalists after plenary, the lawmaker insisted that political approach remains the best way to handle the case, saying that the sit-at-home protests and destruction of lives and properties by enforcers of the orders in the South-East would stop with his release.
